High court dismisses case against Punjab cricket body

Mohali (Punjab), Jan 8: The Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed a public interest suit against the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), seeking the recovery of entertainment tax collected from the sale of tickets worth over Rs.30 million, PCA officials Thursday said.

The ruling was given by the bench of Chief Justice T. S. Thakur and Justice Jasbir Singh, on a petition of Ludhiana resident Sarabjit Singh Kahlon against the PCA and the state's excise and taxation department.

In the PCA's reply, its counsel contended that the writ petition was filed by Kahlon out of vengeance and rancour as his son Vishvajit Singh Kahlon was not included in the Ludhiana District Cricket Association, an affiliate of the PCA, in 2004 because of poor performance.

The bench said the petition does not appear to be a real case of public interest, in which the petitioner ought to approach the court with clean intentions.

"The petition does not make any allegation supported by any material to the effect that the association had collected entertainment tax from those who came for watching the matches," they said.

"We do not consider any illegality or irregularity in the grant of exemption by the government to the PCA or to other sports associations from payment of entertainment duty. In our view, the present petition is a clear abuse of the process of this court and hence deserves to be dismissed," the bench added.